I look down at my phone to trade stocks and I wondered how did they trade stocks back in the past? Did they stand in a market and yell out orders? Did they read public notices to figure out what you could buy and sell? How did they protect themselves from cheaters? Were they any ticker tapes like devices in the ancient era or in the Victorian era?
It is generally accepted that the first Stock Market was inaugurated in 1531 in Antwerp in present day Belgium.
In London, stockbrokers were barred from the Royal Exchange because of their behavior, so they gravitated towards the coffee houses around Lombard Street and Change Alley, particularly Jonathan's and Garraways. Stockbroking business was such a part of Jonathan's that the coffee house basically evolved into the London Stock Exchange. Can't put my hands on a scholarly source at the mo', but there's a lot of information in this Economist article. I think there are a few mentions in Pepys' diary that would provide a contemporary account as well.